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Mary Kathleen McCabe, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves arrive at the 86th Annual Academy Awards on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California© Getty

Matthew McConaughey's wife Camila Alves addresses family drama talk in latest interview

The Interstellar actor's mom was not always his wife's biggest fan

Beatriz Colon
Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
September 14, 2023
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Matthew McConaughey's wife Camila Alves could have landed herself in hot water, again, with her mother-in-law Mary Kathlene McCabe, but she maintains that's not the case.

The Brazilian model recently gave surprising insight into her once tense relationship with her MIL, who the McConaughey family affectionately call Ma Mac, revealing that Mary Kathlene was not initially Camila's biggest fan.

During an August episode of Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast, the mom-of-three recalled how her MIL would address her by the wrong name and speak broken Spanish to her (Camila's native language is Portuguese,) and now she's revealing how they got through it, and Ma Mac's reaction to the revelation.

WATCH: Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves son Levi joins Instagram for 15th birthday

However, speaking with Entertainment Tonight while at the Michael Kors fashion show during NYFW, Camila said of her headline-making comments on Ma Mac: "Oh she loves it."

"Ma Mac loves the limelight," she confessed, adding: "She loves to be in [the limelight], she loves it."

Plus, she noted: "It's a true story you know, I wasn't making it up, I wasn't exaggerating… It's a true story, things like that do happen."

Camila Alves, Matthew McConaughey and mom Mary Kathleen McCabe arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere of "The Lincoln Lawyer" on March 10, 2011 in Hollywood, California© Getty
Camila and Matthew have been married since 2012

However, she said: "I think the most important thing is not necessarily to be stuck on the story, it's the fact that we got past it, we got to the other side with joy, with laughter."

MORE: Matthew McConaughey's striking daughter is mom Camila's double in photos

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Camila had previously recalled on the podcast: "She did all these things when I first came in the picture, right?" adding: "She was really testing me. I mean, really testing me. She would call me by all of Matthew's ex-girlfriends' names, she would start speaking Spanish with me in a very broken way, kind of putting [me] down a bit. I mean, all kinds of stuff."

Mary Kathleen McCabe, Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves arrive at the 86th Annual Academy Awards on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California© Getty
The actor was once estranged from his mom for eight years

However, she told ET: "You gotta understand that from whatever your mother-in-law's hurdles are that you have to pass, you just have to put yourself in a situation where you can get out of it," and: "You're just gonna have to work it out, there's no way out, that's it, and trust me, it's worth it," maintaining: "You'll get to the other side."

It was certainly worth it for her, and now she can happily say: "Right now she's one of my best friends, she's my buddy, she really is."

Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey smiling for a photo on a red carpet© Getty
Matthew and Camila first started dating in 2006

Camila previously said that she finally proved herself to Ma Mac during a trip to Istanbul the two went on by themselves. She recalled: "About day three, I was taking her to her room, and she got into this whole other thing that it's not my place to share, and she starts crying, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh!' You know, 'Ma Mac!' and feeling so sorry. And as I put her to bed, I look at her and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh. She's full of [expletive].'"

MORE: Watch Matthew McConaughey surprise wife Camila Alves with heartwarming family update

Camila Alves McConaughey (C) with son Levi Alves McConaughey (L) and daughter Vida Alves McConaughey (R) attend the Stella McCartney Womenswear Fall Winter 2023-2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on March 06, 2023© Getty
Camila with her and Matthew's two oldest kids, Levi and Vida

Camila took it as an opportunity to finally stand up for herself, and she said: "So I just [flipped] it on her and brought my spicy Brazilian, Latin side, and I let her have it. So I went back at her, and we had it back and forth, back and forth," before revealing the happy outcome: "She just looked at me and she was like, 'Okay. Now you're in.'"

"All she wanted was for me to fight back," she admitted, before noting: "From that day on, that night on, we have the most amazing relationship, and I have so much respect for her."

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